N. Chas. to snuff out smoking?City Council divided, to discuss issue in May By Warren Wise (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Lighting up in public places in North Charleston might be snuffed out if some City Council members have their way. Councilmen Bob King and Bobby Jameson asked Mayor Keith Summey by e-mail on Tuesday to put the issue on the agenda as soon as possible for the next Committee of the Whole meeting. "We shouldn't be the only jurisdiction in the area not to have this," King said. "We want to get away from the situation where anything goes in North Charleston. It's a quality of life issue. There's nothing worse than going into a restaurant to eat and have somebody light up next to you." Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island have passed bans on indoor smoking in public places, and the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that it's OK for local governments to do so. At least six of the 11 members of North Charleston City Council polled Tuesday favor a partial smoking ban of some kind. For instance, some public places such as restaurants should be required to have walled-off smoking areas to keep smoke from drifting over to diners who don't smoke, Jameson said. He would like to see vented areas for nonsmokers as well. "I think smokers have a right to smoke if they want to kill themselves," Jameson said. "Since the Supreme Court has done what they have done, we need to look at it and put some controls on it. I'm for cleaning it up." He added that he doesn't care if people smoke in bars. The proposal faces an uphill battle with Summey, who sets the agenda for Committee of the Whole meetings. The committee is a meeting of the full council where a variety of issues are discussed, and council can make decisions on policy if there is agreement. Summey has long held that he does not support government intrusion on private businesses. "It's a business's decision," Summey said. "I think government is getting too darn restrictive." Council members Ed Astle, Dorothy Williams and Michael Brown agree with the mayor. "Banning it indoors just moves it outside the door," Astle said. "I think each individual restaurant and establishment should do it themselves," Williams said. "I don't think the city should get involved," Brown said. Others are on the opposite end of those arguments. "I would support it 100 percent," Councilwoman Phoebe Miller said. "Those places where it has passed already haven't slowed down a bit," Councilman Steve Ayer said. "We are not the dumping ground for everybody else." Councilman Kurt Taylor does not like to regulate private business' freedom of choice, but he said he would consider discussing the issue. "When we become the last holdout, then we need to take a look at it," Taylor said. Councilwoman Rhonda Jerome said she doesn't like to take away people's rights but also doesn't believe people should be hanging out at the doors of public places with a cigarette in their hand. "I don't have a problem with a partial ban," she said. Councilman Sam Hart also favors a partial ban. "I think non-smokers have a right not to inhale secondhand smoke," he said. The mayor said he was already working on April's agenda, so it would be May before a smoking ban would be discussed. Reach Warren Wise at 745-5850 or wwise@postandcourier.com. |
Article tools |
|
Notice about comments: Charleston.net is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Charleston.net does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not charleston.net. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here. |
Comments
This article has 29 comment(s)
Posted by ColdBeer on April 2, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm curious... what if I open my own business and make it a "private" business.. a private club. Membership cost you 5 dollars a year and you get a card to thrown in your wallet saying you are a member. You can then come to my place of business and smoke if you wish. Would that be legal?
I totally understand the non smokers not wanting to be exposed to second hand smoke, and I don't want to have yesterday’s argument all over again, but we (citizens and our government) are totally screwing this up.
These laws basically say that even if you buy property and start a business on that property, the government will deem it "public property" and will pass laws controlling what goes on in the business that you paid for and started even if what they want to control is otherwise legal. It's a bad precedence. The government should not try and legislate legal activities on what is, in reality, private property.
I'm not a huge fan of Summey, but he got it right on this one.
Posted by wpc3iop on April 2, 2008 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
North Charleston needs to be working on solving their drug and crime problems, not worrying about smoking! This may be the only smart thing Summey has said in years...
Posted by outrage on April 2, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
People suck in more bad air sitting in traffic with their window partially down.
"Those places where it has passed already haven't slowed down a bit," Councilman Steve Ayer said. Nice spin, MT. P has lost about $1500 of my money since Sept. - Idiot.
Pass the Fairtax and these idiots won't be able to tax some things more than others! NANNY STATE!
Fairtax.org
Posted by Kerry on April 2, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How about working on snuffing out the lingering stench coming from Westvaco?
Posted by lowcountrylover on April 2, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The City of Charleston and Mt. Pleasant has lost all my buisness. Mayor Summey, stick to your guns.
Posted by forget on April 2, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Just thinking that N Charleston has other issues that should be at hand. Just an opinion.....
Posted by LowcountryMoose on April 2, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Monkey see monkey do.
Posted by archdude on April 2, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lowcountrymoose
you forgot the last line....
Monkey see monkey do
Especially if that monkey has man boobs.
Posted by tashabecca on April 2, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Public means smokers and non-smokers, everyone is included. If you ex the smokers, then you are only providing for the needs of non-smokers in a PUBLIC place. If one chooses to partake in a perfectly legal activity it is a personal choice. This should not be decided by those who do not condone or partake in such activities, but rather by the PUBLIC. I have stopped patronizing the city that I live in because of the smoking ban and bar closing times! Will N. Charleston be the next city I forget about spending my money in? I no longer patronize the bars in both cities and spend my "party funds" in other cities that do not have CURFEWS (Chicago, NYC, Jersey City, ATL Underground, Pensacola, etc) I and others I know used to each spend over $100 per night at least 3 nights a week in the bars/clubs here, but now I spend none here and spend every weekend out of state and is considering relocating. I cannot continue to live where my personal freedoms are dictated to me based on someone elses PERSONAL BELIEFS!!! The only things left here to do is patronize the thousands of restaurants, become obese and shop for MOOMOOS in the thousands of clothing stores so widely available, Nope on second thought, I can go kayaking!!! Puh-leeze...I am not one from THAT crowd and prefer to dance, take an amusement ride, or a concert of OUR liking (Who in the heck is ANNE MURRAY, anyways? Just kidding, I know who she is but I prefer Mary J. Blige) This is slowly becoming a PLEASANTVILLE, WONDERBREAD community meant just for retirees who do nothing but shop and golf!!!LOL!!!
Posted by justjerry on April 2, 2008 at 2:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The biggest thing that the proponents of the ban are twisting is that a business is NOT a public place. A business is private and should be allowed to let it's patrons do anything that they want to do as long as it is legal. And, the last I checked, smoking tobacco is still legal. The only folks who should be deciding whether or not to allow people to smoke in restaurants are the owners of the restaurants or the owners of the property.
For all of the folks who want a non smoking restaurant to go to get your friends together and prove to the smoking establishments that they are losing business by allowing smoking (as many places have done with cigar and pipe smoke.) The other option is to go out and spend your own money or find investors and open your own restaurant and make it non smoking. It is not your business so stay out of it!
Posted by halfsheli on April 2, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm with you, Jer! I'll be smoking up my favorite North Chuck establishments this very weekend! And if we lose this battle, there's always the deck behind the Irish Consulate
Posted by Hutch on April 2, 2008 at 2:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Non-smokers have a right to clean air.
Posted by KidYendor on April 2, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I long for the good old days when the only worry we had was wondering what our Cold War foes behind the Berlin Wall were going to do to us next. Ronald Reagan may have made a mistake in calling for the tearing down of the wall. Now it seems these foes have been let out and have infiltrated our city halls, courts, state houses, and D.C. to make us more miserable than any nuclear threat ever did with the path they are marching us into. Our city, state and national government is a train wreck that has already happened. Oh for the good old days only worrying about a faraway nuclear threat instead of what our own close by governments will do to us next.
Posted by justjerry on April 2, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hutch - yes you do, as long as it is in a public place. A restaurant or bar is not a public place so the only ones who have a right to dictate what can be done inside should be the ones who own it. Non-smokers far outweigh smokers, so it stands to reason that if enough non-smokers got together that they could change the minds of the business owners by making it financially rewarding to be non-smoking. That has obviously not happened. Or, with the non-smokers being in the majority they could also pool their OWN money and open places themselves. Non-smokers have done neither and it has been proven time and time again that when smoking bans go into effect, many businesses lose money.
Halfshel - pretty soon their will be a wraparound porch and probably a patio that we can go to as well in our beautiful Park Circle!
Posted by halfsheli on April 2, 2008 at 3:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
AHHHHH! A cold beer and a cigarette on the wrap-a-round! Looking forward to it!
Posted by oceandestination on April 2, 2008 at 3:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Mayor Summey. There is too much government control in our lives. I am a non-smoker and if I don't want to breathe it in, I go to restaurants that don't allow it or I sit far away from the smoking section. This is American after all... the land of the free.... not the land of big brother!!!!
Posted by Thomas1776 on April 2, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lets ban automobile exhaust! Lets ban airplane flumes! Lets ban the smoke coming out of people's chimneys in the winter months! Lets ban out door BBQ grilling too!!!!!!
Posted by archdude on April 2, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Do I have the right not to hear the jet noise pollution? Or to see fat people? Or to smell fat people (the mold/fungus that grows in the folds of the morbidly obese who cannot clean in them well enough)?
Posted by LowcountryMoose on April 2, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can see it now. The real North Charleston. Once all the smoke has cleared inside restaurants and bars, people will be sitting around sipping on a nice cup of Earl Grey, reminiscing of Spoleto performances from years past and boasting about how many Advanced Placement courses their children are enrolled in. The ban will be the cornerstone of a great cultural revolution!
Posted by JohnS on April 2, 2008 at 5:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great move. Now I can go in a bar and breath non smoke filled air.
Posted by pithy on April 2, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yea-Mayor Summey! You are smart enough to notice the hits that restaurants and bars in the City and Mt. P have taken from legislators "butting" (pun intended)in and ultimately hurting commerce. All for their own agendas. If you are a non-smoker - don't frequent the business. If you are a smoker be considerate of others and use good smoker's manners.
Posted by ForPnC on April 2, 2008 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I smoke but I don't smoke in restaurants or even sit in that section.
A bar is a different story. What? Non-smokers are going in there for their health? What a bunch of hypocrites. What a crock.
Posted by hoyce on April 2, 2008 at 7:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
people want government out of our lives, yet everytime a tornado or hurricane rips apart their town they want the government in their lives. people don't want socialized medicine, but we're pretty close to it now with medicaid and medicare. people don't want goverment telling them where and when they can smoke, but yet they want the medicare and medicaid to pay for their chemotherapy when they have cancer or they treatments for their children's asthma because they smoke in their house. interesting phenomenom
Posted by auger on April 2, 2008 at 9:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with ForPnC. I have been a smoker for more than 30 years. I always choose the non-smoking section of a restaurant, as I do not care to have my meal ruined by the smell of cigarette smoke. When I am in a group where I am the only smoker, I do not smoke. This is common courtesy in my opinion. If I am in an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages only, I expect to smell smoke and feel no guilt in lighting up.
Posted by magoo on April 2, 2008 at 9:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you dont like places that allow smoking take your wallet elsewhere no body is putting a gun to the nonsmokers heads to patronize the places that allow smoking. NUFF SAID!!!
Posted by rollo on April 2, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are N Chas eateries loosing business to those in Chas that ban smoking by law? Even the proponents of the ordinance don't offer this reasoning. Only that we must give up individual liberty to "Keep up with the Joneses".
I believe that Gov't should in all matters possible defer to individual liberty. Obviously some on the city council disagree.
Posted by whycantitbebetterhere on April 2, 2008 at 10:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
1 in 5 Americans smoke. They don't complain when you tell them they stink because they are embarrassed. Most do it to relax. How relaxing do you think it is to go out and spend half your night standing outside? Restaurant - no smoking - fine. Bar - come on! Yeah, the drinking is all healthy and all. I am also sure the "second-hand" alcohol never results in death. Oops - drunk driving - well I guess that is okay as long as your lungs are clean. North Charleston stay the way you are! Free and wild! No one else around here is ever going to like you anyway (they just aren't that into you) Everyone around here thinks you are full of whores and crack dealers, eating SPAM, and beating your wife while you get loaded and smoke! Run with it, sell yourself and the new dangerous and smelly place to live! I am so there, puffing on my cigarette! Love you N. Chuck!
Posted by rollo on April 2, 2008 at 10:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"If I am in an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages only, I expect to smell smoke and feel no guilt in lighting up."
auger, In SC, every establishment that serves alcohol is required by law to offer for sale some form of hot meal as well. This is a civilized state, after all!
BTW,
I have been approached by diners from another table to either extinguish my after dinner smoke or move farther away from their table. I'm always happy to oblige, I enjoyed my dinner, and I want them to enjoy theirs as well.
Posted by whome122 on April 3, 2008 at 12:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What if I do not want to die driving down the road from a drunk driver? Who is going to regulate that? Alcohol is just as dangerous as cigarettes. Where is the outrage! Where are the legislators wanting to crack down. Alcohol has long term affects as well as short term affects. I'm serious... c'mon people isn't there bigger and more important things the government can be doing? I've heard of the cigarette taxes being increased, but I still do not see my health insurance rates coming down. Aren't these increases in cigarette taxes supposed to help with health insurance. Just like the lottery is supposed to help with funding local schools? Anyone know what happened with that? Where is the outrage!